Sheep cross to defend rights
Source: Agencies |
October 31, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SPANISH shepherds led flocks of sheep through the streets of downtown Madrid yesterday in defense of ancient grazing, migration and droving rights threatened by urban sprawl and man-made frontiers.
Jesus Garzon, president of a shepherds council set up in 1273, said some 5,000 sheep and 60 cattle crossed the city to exercise the right to droving routes that existed before Madrid grew from a rural hamlet to the capital it is today.
Following an old tradition of hundreds of years, a chief herdsman paid 25 maravedis - coins first minted in the 11th century - to use the crossing, Garzon said.
Shepherds have a right to use 125,000 kilometers of paths for seasonal livestock migrations from cool highland pastures in summer to warmer grazing in winter. The movement is called transhumance and in Spain it involves a million animals, mostly sheep and cattle.
Some paths have been used annually for over 800 years and modern-day Madrid is in the way of two north-south routes, one dating back to 1372.
Madrid is a relatively modern city by European standards, only receiving its status as the center of Spain's empire in 1561.
Jesus Garzon, president of a shepherds council set up in 1273, said some 5,000 sheep and 60 cattle crossed the city to exercise the right to droving routes that existed before Madrid grew from a rural hamlet to the capital it is today.
Following an old tradition of hundreds of years, a chief herdsman paid 25 maravedis - coins first minted in the 11th century - to use the crossing, Garzon said.
Shepherds have a right to use 125,000 kilometers of paths for seasonal livestock migrations from cool highland pastures in summer to warmer grazing in winter. The movement is called transhumance and in Spain it involves a million animals, mostly sheep and cattle.
Some paths have been used annually for over 800 years and modern-day Madrid is in the way of two north-south routes, one dating back to 1372.
Madrid is a relatively modern city by European standards, only receiving its status as the center of Spain's empire in 1561.
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